TEMPERANCE:

Temperance means to eat not in dullness and drink not to elevation. Therefore, I believe temperance is a very challenging virtue to perfect. I chose temperance because I want to challenge my daily lifestyle. I am hoping that focusing on temperance will give me a better eating style and with a better eating style I will hopefully become healthier. This will be very complicated to complete because alls I do is eat. I eat anytime food is available to me. So, with choosing temperance it will hopefully help minimize my problems.

I will work on perfecting my virtue by a step by step process. First, I will limit my snack consumption to one snack per day. Next, I will start slowly decreasing the amount of healthy food I intake during a day. Since I eat large portions I will also be decreasing the size of these portions. My final goal is that I will be eating no junk food and three basic meals a day. This gradual process will help me complete my virtue.


UPDATE #1- APRIL 17 So far, my steps for perfecting my virtue are not working out as planned. I have not really been trying so hopefully the next couple days will be better. I am still going to try my gradual process of slowly eliminating food. I am just going to have to be a little stricter with myself so I do not give in to the food I shouldn't be eating. This is going to invlove a little more concentration than I thought.

UPDATE #2- APRIL 26Well, my progress is not so swell. I have been eating a little extra lately but towards the end of the week I started showing great improvement. I only ate three meals a day which is quite difficult for me. The meals were very large meals but I did not eat all day long. I am very proud of myself for slowly perfecting Ben Franklin's virtue of temperance. By this weekend I shall have temperance nearly perfected.


Shaye,I admire how you're practicing temperance, but I don't think you need to be worrying so much about you eat! I think eliminating junk food is always good, as is striving to eat healthier. Just don't overdo temperance! Are ther any other ways that you could show temperance that don't involve food? -Mrs. V

UPDATE #3- MAY 1I have completed eating not into dullness literally. So I started on something else I also do in boredness. I watch way too much tv just because I am bored. So I've decided to also start trying to perfect this. It is going very well. I used to watch tv all the time but now I only watch it every once in awhile. When I feel the need to watch tv I preoccupy myself with something else such as walking the dog, cleaning my room, or other various things. This is going extremely well and I feel not as lazy.

UPDATE #4- MAY 3Finally I am beginning to grasp this virtue. I have begun to understand the reasoning behind not doing things excessively because you should enjoy things in moderation and not overindulge. Just because you are bored does not mean you should waste your valuable time on eating, watching tv, or doing other unnecessary things.

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